State Sen. Sheila Kuehl pictured with Assemblyman Mark Leno
California State Senator Sheila Kuehl had a coup this past week. A bill she introduced passed in the California senate that would require California textbooks to include the contributions made by gay men and lesbians to the economic, political and social development of California and the U.S.
Besides the fact that students should learn about the homophobic assassination of San Francisco supervisor Harvey Milk, or know that poet Langston Hughes was a gay man, or understand the significance of the gay rights movement in California, studies show that gay kids are safer in school when their peers are given the opportunity learn about gay issues.
"The 2004 Safe Place to Learn report showed that California schools were safer when students learned about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the classroom. Specifically, the report found at schools with bias free, inclusive curriculum, 85 percent of all students felt safe at school and 65 percent of all students felt their school was a safe place for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students. At the schools where there was no mention in the classroom of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people only 63 percent of all students felt safe at school and only 40% of the students felt that their school was a safe place for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students."
Press Release: Kuehl’s Bias Free Curriculum Act Passes Senate
The message boards on AOL are burning up today about the issue of gay-inclusive textbooks, with some of the most hateful posts I've seen in a while.
This is really sad. It shows we still have a lot of work to do in getting Americans to know and understand gay men and lesbians.
Fortunately, if the bill passes the other house and the governor signs it, the students in whose hands the textbooks will eventually end up probably will be much more open to these issues than the homophobes who want to erase gays from history. As I talked about last week, the new generation of kids known as "dotnets and millennials" promises to have a far more tolerant stance toward gays.
I have hope.
Comments | Worth Repeating: Home | AOL Gay & Lesbian
26 comments:
Mr. Hill, once again you have nailed it. No one ever benefits from *not* learning. Ignorance is the enemy. Senator Kuehl is an American hero in my view and someday I hope she's included in the school books she's trying to change for the better.
I hope to hell this is never taught. That would be the most horrible thing in this land. Oh ya, we can remove God from everywhere and everything, but we can bring in gay education. Come on America get your heads out of where the sun don't shine!!!!!!!
What does ones sexual preferance have to do with History? When we learn about Abraham Lincoln, or George Washington,Martin Luther King, Betsy Ross, or anyone else no where does the History books say oh and by the way they were gay or lesbian. WHAT does that have to do with ANYTHING?Why must so much attention be brought to those UNNECESSARY privacies? Men who are NOT gay don't stand around Bellowing I HAVE SEX WITH WOMEN, and women who are not lesbian don't stand around Squaking I HAVE SEX WITH MEN. The Bible tells us that SEX is private intimacy between a MARRIED man and woman, not between a MARRIED man and woman and the WORLD. Some things should be sacred and PRIVATE!!!!!!
Of course men don't have to yell "I have sex with WOMEN", and women don't have to yell "I HAVE SEX WITH MEN!" Straight people don't have to do this, because it is THEIR world, their country, everything in our culture and history has been based around them and their beliefs. Gay people do not enjoy equality. They don't have equal rights. They feel scared to walk down the street and show affection the way a straight couple might do. So, it is important when speaking of diversity in school to show that there are gay americans and other historical figures who were great people who did great things. This is important not only for the gay students so they can feel proud of who they are, but also for straight students as well, so they can learn to recognize people with different orientations than themselves and to learn to respect those differences. If the older generations had been taught this when they were in school, you wouldn't see all this hate and gay bashing over NOTHING like you do today...In 100 years, people will look back on the reactions of straight people to gays today and think "I can't believe people really thought that way. How silly!" Much like we today think slavery and making African Americans use different bathrooms was ridiculous.
A couple of things about that, didiward02:
1) I think people DO learn about people's sexuality as history is taught. You cite Lincoln, Washington, etc. Ever heard of Mary Todd Lincoln or Martha Washington? You don't even realize when heterosexual elements are taught because hetero spouses are part of the status quo. Why shouldn't the full lives of gay people be included if they are relevant to a historical person or event? They should.
2) Sometimes a person's sexuality may be the very reason they end up in the history books, as in the case of Supervisor Harvey Milk who was assassinated in 1978 along with Mayor Moscone by a homophobic colleague. Dan White, their killer, practically got off scott-free. His lenient sentence (read as: "it's OK to kill fags") incited the White Night Riots. If that event is taught in school, it might actually lead to an intelligent conversation about homophobia, gay bashing and moments in time when "and justice for all" didn't apply to a man like Harvey Milk whose untimely death was disrespected by our legal system because he was a gay man fighting for gay rights.
Dangerous Sexual Behavior? Is this still what people (mostly "Christians") wrongly promote about gays and lesbians?
WOW! Now THAT is Dangerous. As is organized religion with such ignornant beliefs.
AS A GAY MAN MYSELF, AND LIVING IN WEST VIRGINIA WHERE
THERE IS NOTHING BUT RACISM NOT ONLY AGAINST LATINO AND BLACKS BUT ALSO AGAINST GAYS AND LESBIANS BUT IT'S ALRIGHT FOR THEM TO INBREED.I FEEL THIS IDEA OF TEACHING IN SCHOOLS IS THE BEST I'VE HEARD YET. SO MORE POWER TO US AND LETS HOPE THAT THIS WILL BRING PEOPLE CLOSER TO UNDERSTANDING THAT GAYS AND LESBIANS GO BEYOND THE TIMES OF THE ROMANS AND THATS ITS NOT A PHASE PEOPLE GO THROUGH. BUT THAT THERE ARE FEELINGS INVOLVED JUST AS A STRAIGHT PERSON WOULD HAVE.
I am sick and tired of this one way attitude toward gays if you want to put yourselves out there then you need to do it all the way. You want contributions of gays yes and what about the moral decline in society, what about the life expectancy of gays that is average of 45 yrs old? How about if Jack McFarland were a real person he would have died of aids long ago. How about the fact that gays want special rules in society , sorry but we Americans are not about to make gays the new black cause in spite of what liberals will try to pander to the public.
Some of the statements by others sharing their feelings about the teaching of gay figures' contributions in history are a bit incomplete. One states that the average lifespan of a gay man is 45 and that if the Jack character on TV were gay he'd have died of aids are in error. The actor who plays Jack on TV is gay and is very much alive and I'm not sure where the writer gets his/her stats on the average lifespan of gay males. I'm 53 and hiv negative and know many gays who are negative as well and others that are pos and very much alive. Let's remember, those famous figures we all do know have their not so wonderful parts, which we do learn about in the schools. Benjamin Franklin introduced whore houses to America from France, suggesting he made significant contributions to the spread of syphlis and other veneral diseases. Then there was the matter of several of the presidents, living and dead and their affairs. Let's give equal time to all historical figures. Like the senator said, when she was in school, the only group making any kind of positive contribution to society was white men. And let's face it, white men's contritbutions haven't been all that great if you know what I mean, and before you start, I'm blond.
This is all Dobie's fault....... He did this .....
The '45 year lifespan of gays' was the result of an erroneous survey done by an anti-gay group. They read through the obituaries posted in the San Francisco Bay Area Reporter (a gay newspaper) at the height of the AIDS crisis (the early '90s )and averaged all of the ages of those that had died. It was a completely non-sensical way to arrive at a ludicrous conclution. The BAR only started printing obits in response to the AIDS crisis and, of course, most of the gay obts at that time were of guys who had died of AIDS. There were very, very few lesbian obits and even fewer deaths by natural causes. In addition, the obts were only published because a friend or family member sent them in.
I, too, am in my 40's and nowhere near dying. My parnter just turned 51. Our 3 best friends, two gay lovers and a lesbian, are 60, 49 and 52 respectively.
Growing up in conservative Virginia in the '70s it would have been nice to learn that several of the people I had been studying (i.e. Walt Whitmas, Oscar Wilde, Stephen Crane, etc) were gay. It would have led to a better understanding of who I was and may have altered my feelings of inferiority and alienation at that pivotal age.
Go Sheila!
kuehl, ya'll don't want Jesus Christ taught in school because it condemns your lifestyle and we don't want one lifestyle over another taught. That will be the day my granddaughter is pulled ot of public school. Why don't you start private schools for kids of gays, just like Christians have had to do with schools of their religion.
Go Zelda...You know, somehow it came across even then. It did nothing to diminish the fact that you were the most interesting and compelling character on the show. As a straight white male of middle age and comportment, I congratulate you; not on your sexual orientation, but on your years of public service and your courage for so publicly addressing this issue. I am somewhat appalled and ashamed that it even is an issue.
Best regards,
David Martin
THE PROBLEM WITH THAT`S IT`LL BE OPINIONATED WETHER A GAY/LESBIAN TEACHING THE COURSE OR A "STRAIGHT", PERSON. PARENTS MAY HAVE FEAR A GAY/LESBIAN TEACHING THE COURSE IS GOING TO LEAD THEIR CHILD ASTRAY AND A STRAIGHT TEACHER NOT GIVE PROPER IMFORMATION MISLEADING THE STUDENT IN THE WRONG DIRECTION. A CHILD WHO STRUGGLING WITH HIS IDENTITY COULD LIVE UNHAPPILY AND MISERABLE HIDING IT. MY OPINION BETWEEN THE TWO SHOULD BE A GAY/LESBIAN ,OBVIOUSLY HAVE OUTLOOK OF BOTH SIDES OF IT.
GAY/LESBIANS ARE JUST LIKE ANY OF US(NO OFFENCE) IT`S TRUE. THEY HAVE GENUINE FEELINGS, EXPERIENCE THE SAME JOYS, HEARTACHES,LAUGHING ,CRYIN, HAVE EMOTIONS, ENJOY SAME ACTIVITIES, PERFORM THE SAME JOBS, THEY FEEL&ARE SENSATIVE. THEY`RE JUST AS HUMAN AS ANYONE ELSE IS. THE DIFFERENCE AND ONLY DIFFERENCE IS THEY PREFER THEIR RELATIONSHIPS,AFFECTIONS AND LOVE(ALSO GENUINE) WITH THE OPPOSITE GENDER.
NO...I`M NOT GAY OR LESBIAN,HOWEVER I HAVE HAD THE "PLEASURE" OF BEING A MOTHER OF WHAT I THOUGHT WAS A "NORMAL" CHILD(SOCIETY SPEAKING) AND TODAY HE`S STILL NORMAL, ONLY TO FIND OUT IN THEIR LATE TEENS THAT THEY WERE GAY. YES,I WAS VERY UPSET AT FIRST,WISHED IT NOT SO,HEART BROKEN. BUT YOU CANNOT CHANGE A PERSON THAT IS EXACTLY WHO THEY ARE AND THEY DESERVE TO LIVE AND BE THAT PERSON AS ANYONE ELSE,YOU AND ME AND WHOEVER.
IT DIDN`T FOR ONE MOMENT CHANGE THE LOVE I HAVE FOR MY CHILD (FULL GROWN NOW)WE HAVE A VERY CLOSE RELATIONSHIP,GREAT COMMUNICATION AND AN UNDERSTANDING AND RESPECT OF WHO THEY ARE MORE SO BECAUSE I`V HAVE SEEN MY CHILD FROM BOTH SIDES. I KNOW THEY ARE WHO THEY ARE. JUST AS I AM ME.I ENJOY MY CHILDS FRIENDS,THEY`RE GREAT! THEY ARE HUMANS JUST AS ANYONE ELSE. I BELIEVE THEY SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO PROFESS THEIR LOVE FOR EACHOTHER AND HOPE THERE COME A DAY THAT GAYS/LESSBIANS ARE ABLE TO DO THAT IN THE LEGAL SENSE. WE ALL HAVE A RIGHT TO OUR OWN.
They should teach about it. I did research after my son told me he was gay. I understand it more. If they teach it people would understand it more. They teach everything else in school.
If Gay/Lesbions contribute to history, that should be included in history books, but sexual preference has no place in history books.
I commend Shelia for bringing this issue up! I remember watching her on Dobie without even realizing that I was watching a "true" family member. I applaud her for challenging the educational system. We need to be as vocal as we can in order NOT to be invisible in this country. We have come a long way but have MORE work to do!
I'm all for full inclusion of gay history into textbooks... although if someone did cool stuff, his/her sex preferences should probably be off the table. I read In Cold Blood as a kid, and suffered no less or more enjoyment re-reading it later in life after I knew Truman liked a bit of the old "we both get to watch the hockey game" style sex.
I may be wrong, but I look at Oscar Wilde as a quote machine first, and a gay man far, far second. I can honestly say that I've never even considered thinking about how F. Scott Fitzgerald liked his piece of ass. Maybe we need to get to a point where people are like "Good book!" instead of ""Good gay book!"
This gay textbooks sounds like a good idea. But it should be an option and not a prerequisite. They teach black and women history I guess it is only right that they teach gay history. But it should be a mandatory class if other women and minority histories aren't. It really sounds more like an excuse for gay youth to hook up than learn anyway, so more power to them I suppose.
And how is knowing somone's sexual preferences more valid than say knowing their religous beliefs? Most parents would not want thier children learning about this except maybe in health class or in college. I believe more people would be offeneded by the irrelevence. Will they have to divide everybody in history by thier sexuality, race, religous beliefs, class, etc. In reality it seems more offensive then enlightening. I think students should focus on people's character, merits, and accomplishments not their personal life. I don't know about you, but I never read anything on George Washington's sexual preferences, nor would I want to. Also, I really don't think teachers would stray too much from the general history already taught simply becuase there isn't enough time in a semester to teach each special interest groups history; I mean if you're going to single out homosexuals, then there should be history taught on handicap achievements, religious groups achievements, and every single minority in the U.S. becuase its only fair. Now if you want to get rid of Algebra in exchange for gay history I'm sure a lot of kids wouldn't mind.
Very informative thank you.
Very informative , thank you .
Some one needs to point out to all these homophobic jerks that if it were not for Gay men like PLato and Aristole and so forth..Western Civilization as we know it would not BE.
Remind them off all the contributions that gay men and women have given to this world, this country and compare that to what hetrosexuals have given. The next time you view the Sistine Chapel or read a play by Williams, or take their kids to the Nutcracker..Its about time..
A queer is a queer is a queer ... a queen is a queen is a queen ... an' that's all ahm gonna say 'bout that
THIS IS A DISGRACE TO OUR NATION!!! WE SHOULD NOT BE TEACHING CHILDREN THAT IS OKAY TO BE GAY BECAUSE IT HAS BEEN AROUND FOR SO LONG!!!! I HAVE NOTHING AGAINST THEM, BUT THIS IS NOT THE WAY PEOPLE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE!!! GAYS CAN NOT REPRODUCE AND THAT IS WHY WE ARE HERE ON EARTH TO REPRODUCE AND DIE!!!! PEOPLE NEED TO THINK OF OUR KIDS FUTURES AND NOT ABOUT THE POOR PEOPLE WHO ARE GAY AND WANT EXCEPTANCE! THIS WILL BE THE CAUSE OF OUR GREAT AND POWERFUL STATE TO FALL INTO NOTHING! JUST A BUNCH OF GAY LOVING PEOPLE! I WILL MOVE OUT OF THIS STATE IF THIS IS PASSED!!!!
First there are heterosexual people who can not reproduce. If they did something significant should their stories not be told??? I am not gay, bi, I am completely heterosexual, but I think that people are people, homosexuals have been forever, but that is not the reason that is should be taught in the public school system. It should be taught so students who may be gay will NOT be harassed. If it were your son or daughter who were homosexual and was beaten up or even killed wouldn't you think that perhaps if the perpertrator had been educated that they may not have been so hateful??? Look at the President of Iran, saying that there are "no homosexuals in his country," not teaching our children about diversity in all areas is just as ludicrious as his statement. People should learn about every aspect of life, and gay's aren't just a phenomeneon that is going to pass with time, homosexuals have been around and are going to stay around. If it were your kid it would be a different story all around.
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